Japan emerges as largest consumer of Vietnamese seafood
VOV.VN - Japan has outpaced the US to become the largest consumer of Vietnamese seafood, although the export of these products to this market decreased by 11% to over US$310 million in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
VASEP reported that seafood exports to Japan fell sharply in a number of key products such as white-leg shrimp down 35%, salmon down 4%, and octopus down 6%. Meanwhile, exports of squid, scad, pollock and tuna increased by 13-88%.
The US lost its No1 position as it imported approximately US$290 million worth of Vietnamese seafood in the first quarter, down 50% year on year.
As the US market consumes mainly frozen seafood, Vietnamese products are under great competitive pressure in terms of both supply and price compared to similar products imported from other seafood processors such as India, Ecuador and Indonesia, said VASEP.
Elsewhere, Vietnamese seafood exports to the European Union, China and the Republic of Korea also plunged by 29%, 22% and 13% respectively in the first quarter.
According to VASEP’s projections, China will become Vietnam’s largest seafood export market, though Vietnam is competing with other countries following China’s market reopening.
Meanwhile, other major consumers of Vietnamese seafood such as the EU, the US, Japan and the RoK will find it hard to make a breakthrough in the coming months due to inflation and economic recession risks.